The Fox & Goose, Hebden Bridge

My first visit since my review of February 2015, and it was a surprise to find a rearrangement of the interior, with a much larger bar counter now installed along the back wall, still with six real ales and a real cider. But whereas the previous counter was small with barely room for an additional server behind it, the new one now provides plenty of room in front for regular customers to occupy stools or lean their elbows or feet on the appropriate brass rails that have been added. This is great for encouraging locals, but not so good for passing beer tourists, who now struggle to see the pump clips. However, making the best of the new situation, I took the opportunity to engage with the locals, prompting (as I hoped) wry smiles or chuckles at my compulsion to take photos of the pump clips. Otherwise nothing has really changed, with a good range of beer styles from a variety of breweries. The solitary half that I allowed myself, with a climb up the other side of the valley still to be accomplished, was in excellent condition. Date of visit: 27th August 2019

Visited on Saturday evening, this was our first pub in Hebden Bridge after doing a few in Sowerby Bridge. A bit of a walk from the centre, this feels more of a traditional locals' pub than many others in Hebden Bridge. At the bar there are six hand pulls, all of which were on, offering two by Jolly Boys Brewery, one by Torrside, a Belgian style beer by Serious Brewing, and the others slipped my mind. They were all interesting and none of the big nationals. My Jolly Collier Porter was a decent drink and £3.40 for a pint. As you come in there is a room/area in front of the bar which was full, a room to the left which seemed to have live Irish music on, and a room to the right that was a little quieter although the only seats remaining were stools against a drinking shelf. The pub had a nice atmosphere and obviously a lot of the people seemed to know each other but we did not feel unwelcome as 'outsiders'. I would have been happy to spend more time here and it is easy to see why it is so busy. Definitely an unpretentious proper boozer with a decent real ale selection.

After a good walk around Hardcastle Crags, the ‘aleandhearty’ family were definitely in need of a beer or two. Unfortunately, our preferred choices in Hebden town centre were closed and so we made a spontaneous detour out to the Fox & Goose and were so glad we did. It’s a cracking traditional, stone floored, three roomer, probably best described as having an unpretentious cosiness. At the bar, six ales were on offer and the four I tried: Red Willow ‘Headless’ & ‘Faithless’, Magpie ‘One for Sorrow’ and Pictish ‘Brewer’s Gold’ were all in excellent condition. Service from the barman was friendly and welcoming and there was a surprisingly good atmosphere on our Tuesday afternoon visit, with about a dozen other punters in the place. Our visit coincided with the freakish, late-February, summery weather and so, rather than sit inside, we took the staircase, to the left of the bar, up to the hillside beer garden, just to the side of the pub. It was lovely to drink beer in the warm sunshine, but rather unsettling to see the sun dropping down over the far side of the valley, at 4.30 in the afternoon, when it felt like June! As a family, we all loved this place and will undoubtedly return in the future. Fans of ‘proper’ traditional pubs will definitely find something to enjoy here.